Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 14
Śrī Rāmacandra-avatāra — Vow, Exile, Laṅkā-vijaya, and Rāma-rājya
Concise Bhāgavata Account
न त्वां वयं जडधियो नु विदाम भूमन् कूटस्थमादिपुरुषं जगतामधीशम् । यत्सत्त्वत: सुरगणा रजस: प्रजेशा मन्योश्च भूतपतय: स भवान् गुणेश: ॥ १४ ॥
na tvāṁ vayaṁ jaḍa-dhiyo nu vidāma bhūman kūṭa-stham ādi-puruṣaṁ jagatām adhīśam yat-sattvataḥ sura-gaṇā rajasaḥ prajeśā manyoś ca bhūta-patayaḥ sa bhavān guṇeśaḥ
O all-pervading Supreme Person, we are dull-minded and did not understand who You are, but now we understand that You are the Supreme Person, the master of the entire universe, the unchanging and original Personality of Godhead. The demigods are infatuated with the mode of goodness, the Prajāpatis with the mode of passion, and the lord of ghosts with the mode of ignorance, but You are the master of all these qualities.
The word jaḍa-dhiyaḥ refers to intelligence like that of an animal. A person with such intelligence cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without being beaten, an animal cannot understand the purpose of a man. Similarly, those who are dull-minded cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but when punished severely by the modes of material nature, they begin to understand Him. A Hindi poet has said:
FAQs
This verse states that the demigods, creators (Prajāpatis), and various rulers of beings arise through the Lord’s manifestations of sattva, rajas, and tamas—yet He remains the guṇa-īśa, the controller of all modes.
They confess their limited, conditioned intelligence: although they administer the cosmos, the Lord is kūṭastha (unchanging) and ādi-puruṣa (the original person), beyond full comprehension by material faculties.
Recognize how goodness, passion, and ignorance influence thoughts and choices, and practice devotion and remembrance of the Lord as the one who transcends and guides these modes—cultivating humility and steadiness.